Your guitar may have battled through dive bars, late-night rehearsals, and clueless sound engineers, but brutal Saudi desert heat pushes even legendary instruments past their limits. For gear that ranks among the most valuable guitars in the world, climate can be the ultimate enemy.
Richard Fortus discovered this the hard way during Guns N’ Roses’ May 23rd show at Riyadh’s Mohammed Abdu Arena, when temperatures hit 113°F and turned his signature Gretsch Falcon’s pickup wax into guitar tears. The photos he shared on Instagram look like something from a Stranger Things upside-down portal—white streaks of melted wax oozing from his humbucker mounts like his guitar was slowly dissolving under stage lights.
When Science Meets Rock and Roll
The culprit here isn’t just any old guitar component—it’s the wax potting that most quality pickups rely on, typically an 80/20 blend of paraffin and beeswax with a melting point around 115-154°F. This stuff exists for good reasons: it reduces mechanical vibrations that cause unwanted microphonics and prevents moisture from corroding your pole pieces.
Pickup wax is the unsung hero that keeps your guitar from squealing like a banshee every time you turn up the gain. The band tried everything to beat the heat—starting the show after 10 PM when the sun had mercifully disappeared—but stage lights and Arabian Peninsula physics don’t negotiate.
Within hours, Guitar TikTok exploded with reactions to Fortus’s post. You know something’s gone viral when guitar nerds start duetting with thermal physics explanations.
The Gretsch That Wouldn’t Quit
Here’s what’s impressive: Fortus kept playing through the entire three-hour set despite his guitar slowly liquefying before his eyes. His signature Gretsch Falcon sports custom-wound Filter’Tron humbuckers that he co-designed specifically to complement Slash’s Les Paul tone—and apparently, they’re built tough enough to function even when their internal wax decides to go on vacation.
This isn’t just any guitarist dealing with gear failure, either. Fortus has been GNR’s secret weapon since 2002, providing the tonal counterpoint to Slash’s classic humbucker roar.
According to AccuWeather, the high temperature on the day of their show reached 109 degrees, with predictions of temperatures climbing as high as 114 degrees that day. After the performance in Riyadh, Guns N’ Roses traveled to Abu Dhabi, where the temperature reached 106 degrees on the day of their show.
The gearheads in the comments went predictably wild. Testament’s Alex Skolnick summed up the collective guitar community response with a simple open-mouthed emoji—because really, what else do you say when someone’s pickups start melting mid-show?
Now that the Middle East leg of the 2025 GNR tour is in the rearview, guitarist Richard Fortus and his heat-stressed Falcon can breathe easy. With cooler European climates ahead, the band returns to typical touring headaches—think busted strings and drained batteries instead of melting gear.
But next time you complain about that sticky summer festival gig, remember: at least your pickups aren’t dripping onto the stage.
